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Looking for a smalltalk group for your family?
smalltalk programs and partnerships
smalltalk is currently reaching families across Australia with embedded programs in Victoria and extensive partnerships across other States and Territories.
smalltalk is also used internationally through a range of programs and licensing agreements in countries such as Singapore, and is a key component of programs in the United States, England, the Channel Islands, and South Korea.
Each partnership brings smalltalk into a different service environment, helping us learn how the program can work effectively for diverse families and communities.
We’re now looking to build on this experience by partnering with more organisations and jurisdictions. Together, we can make practical, evidence-informed parenting support available to more families.
Victoria
Statewide delivery through Supported Playgroups
The Victorian Department of Families, Fairness and Housing funds the statewide delivery of smalltalk through the Supported Playgroup program.
Delivered primarily by local councils, the program gives families access to practical support within services in their own communities. Parents take part in welcoming, play-based groups where they can explore smalltalk strategies, connect with other families and build confidence in supporting their child’s learning and development.
smalltalk is delivered across 79 Victorian local government areas by more than 160 trained facilitators.*
The Victorian partnership demonstrates how smalltalk can be embedded consistently across a statewide service system while being delivered by organisations that understand their local communities.
smalltalk adds value to our supported playgroups – it absolutely is a value-add. Many of our facilitators come from a childcare background and smalltalk helps them shift from focusing only on children to engaging effectively with parents and families.
— Supported Playgroup practitioner, Victoria
*Delivery and training figures current at September 2026.
New South Wales
Building workforce capability across community services
Through a partnership with Fams, smalltalk is helping strengthen supported playgroups and family services across New South Wales.
With support from the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, Fams and the Parenting Research Centre provide smalltalk training, coaching and implementation support to organisations delivering the Targeted Early Intervention program.
Since 2024, more than 170 practitioners from 91 organisations have completed smalltalk training.* This is building workforce capability to use evidence-based approaches with parents and young children across a wide range of community settings.
The NSW partnership shows how training and ongoing implementation support can help multiple organisations integrate smalltalk into different groups, communities and service models.
Initially our service had clear plans on how we would implement the smalltalk content… however we found that our plans didn’t suit all our groups. It was through unpacking some of these challenges in coaching that we were supported to be flexible in our delivery.
— smalltalk delivery partner, NSW
*Delivery and training figures current at September 2026.
Singapore
Integrating smalltalk into an established home-visiting service
KidSTART Singapore is a dedicated agency that provides early support to eligible families with children up to six years old.
KidSTART has partnered with smalltalk since 2016 and became its first international licensee in 2025. Working with its service partners, accredited smalltalk trainers and the Parenting Research Centre, KidSTART has embedded smalltalk into its home-visiting service.
This enables practitioners to offer parents practical strategies that support children’s learning and development through everyday interactions and routines.
The Singapore partnership demonstrates how smalltalk can be introduced into another country and service system through licensing, local training and collaboration with an established early childhood program.
Growing smalltalk through partnership
These partnerships demonstrate how smalltalk can work across different communities, service models and implementation environments.
We are interested in working with governments, community organisations and family services to help more families access practical, evidence-based parenting support.
Could smalltalk work in your community?
Talk to our team about your service setting, the families you support and what delivering smalltalk could look like in your context.